Vishnu Sahasranama 571 - 580

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

571. Divaḥspṛk दिवःस्पृक्

Diva refers to heaven; spṛk is derived from spṛś meaning touch. Therefore, this nāma conveys His viśvarūpadarśana, as described in Bhagavad Gītā.

Kṛṣṇa acquaints Arjuna about His viśvarūpadarśana (Bhagavad Gītā XI. 5-8), as this cannot be seen with human eyes and He ensures that Arjuna is not hurt mentally while seeing His viśvarūpa. Kṛṣṇa says, “Arjuna, behold presently in hundreds and thousands, My multifarious divine forms, of various colours and shapes. Behold in Me, Arjuna, the twelve sons of Aditi1, the eight Vasu-s2, the eleven Rudra-s3, the two Aśvinīkumāra-s4 and the forty nine Marut-s5 and witness many more wonderful forms never seen before. Arjuna, behold as concentrated within this body of Mine, the entire creation consisting of both animate and inanimate beings and whatever else you desire to see. But surely you cannot see Me with your human eyes. Therefore, I vouchsafe to you the divine eye. With this you behold My divine power of Yoga.”

1. Aditi has twelve sons. She is the daughter of Dakṣa and wife of Kaśyapa. There are two versions about the number of sons she had. One, she has twelve sons corresponding to the twelve months of a year and they are – Dhātā, Mitra, Aryamā, Indra, Varuṇa, Aṁśa, Bhaga, Vivasvān, Pūṣā, Savitā, Tvaṣtā and Viṣṇu. As per Vedas, sons of Aditi are known as Āditya-s and they are seven in number. They are - Varuṇa, Mitra, Aryaman, Bhaga, Dakṣa, Aṃśa and Sūrya or Savitṛi.

2. Vasu-s are eight in number and generally known as aṣṭavasu-s and they are Āpa, Dhruva, Soma, Dhava, Anila, Anala, Pratyuśa and Prabhāsa. They signify different energies that are needed to sustain the world.

3. Rudra-s are said to be lower forms of Purāṇic Śiva. Rudra means praise worthy. It also means crying as per certain Purāṇa-s. They are said to be eleven in number and a few texts say they are thirty three in number. Eleven Rudra-s are Hara, Bahurūpa, Tryambaka, Aparājita, Vṛṣākapi, Śaṁbhu, Kapardī, Raivata, Mṛgavyādha, Śarva and Kapālī. Rudra is explained as “forcibly leading this creation upwards. He puts down all those who arrogantly obstruct His courses and kills the evil opponents. Though, terrible, he is beneficent and compassionate to the distressed.”

4. Aśvinīkumāra-s are two in number and they are known as physicians for gods and goddesses. They are said to be the two sons of the Sun.

5. Marut-s are known as wind gods and they are forty nine in number.

Though this nāma says that He touches the heaven, the subtle meaning conveyed is His omnipresence. He pervades the entire universe in the form of different energies.

572. Sarvadṛgvyāsaḥ सर्वदृग्व्यासः

Bhīṣma, even during his death bed remembers the great sage Vyāsa.

Sarvadṛg means omniscient. Therefore, this nāma can be interpreted in two ways. First, as reverence to the great sage Vyāsa. Second as a reference to Lord Viṣṇu, who is all knowing and full of wisdom.

As Kṛṣṇa has said in Bhagavad Gītā (X.37) that He is Vyāsa among the sages and therefore, this nāma could mean Lord Viṣṇu Himself.

573. Vācaspatirayonijaḥ वाचस्पतिरयोनिजः

Vācaspati means Lord of speech and ayonija means not born out of known sources of generation.

He is Lord of speech because, all the Vedas originated from Him. Speech in this context does not necessarily mean sound; it also means knowledge. Brahman is the embodiment of Knowledge and Bliss.

574. Trisāmā त्रिसामा

Tri means three and sāma refers to Sāma Veda in particular or all the four Vedas in general. Sāma also means a metrical hymn or song of praise. Here tri refers to three well known sāma-s – Bṛhat, Rathaṃtara and Vāmadevyam.

This nāma says that He is adored by singing these three Sāma verses. The Sāma-s are known by the names of the sage who has composed the hymn, by directly connecting to Cosmos.

575. Sāmagaḥ सामगः

This nāma says that He Himself is Sāma Veda. All the four Vedas originate from Him. Sāma Veda has special significance while performing major yajñā-s. Gods and goddesses are delighted when Sāma Veda is sung.

576. Sāma साम

577. Nirvāṇaṁ निर्वाणं

Nirvāṇa means Bliss and final liberation. He alone is capable of offering final liberation.

578. Bheṣajam भेषजम्

Bheṣaja means casting a spell of charm for curative purposes. Atharva Veda is subtly conveyed here. After having adored Him through the verses of Sāma Veda, He is being adored through Atharva Veda, which contains a number of healing verses.

This nāma could also mean that He cures His devotees from the ailment of transmigrations. In other words, He gives them liberation.

579. Bhiṣak भिषक्

Bhiṣak is derived from the world bhiṣaj, which means a healer. He heals the pains of transmigration by offering salvation.

Salvation can happen only through a human birth, as mind is associated only with humans. Mind is a powerful instrument made available to humans. If the mind is positively used to contemplate on Him, one gets liberation and this aspect of the Brahman is called bhiṣaj. On the contrary, if the mind is used to connect to the external world through sensory organs, one gets bound in saṃsāra.

580. Saṁnyāsakṛt संन्यासकृत्

He frees His true devotees from the afflictions of saṁsāra (transmigration) by offering them Saṁnyāsa, the worldly renunciation.

A man has to go through different stages to attain liberation, right from his birth to death and the penultimate state is renunciation. The final state is death. He leaves behind all the comforts, including his family and goes to an isolated place to always contemplate on Him. When the pang of death catches up with him, He offers him liberation. He is not born again.

This nāma explains His compassion. He is always ready to offer liberation to all His true devotees.